title: Preoperative magnetoencephalographic sensory cortex mapping.
abstract: The use of functional neuroimaging holds the promise of improving neurosurgical outcomes by providing preoperative localization of critical brain functions. The brain representation of somatosensory function can be effectively localized using magnetoencephalography (MEG) in both normal subjects and in patients with tumors, vascular malformation, and epilepsy. This study investigates the pattern of somatosensory localization in 45 patients. Thirty-two of these patients underwent subsequent resective surgery for brain pathologies. Electrical stimulation of the median nerve was conducted, and the most prominent somatosensory peak in the resultant averaged data was localized using the single equivalent current dipole technique. Results showed that this peak localized either to the central or postcentral sulcus of the somatosensory cortex. We found that neither age nor the presence of brain pathologies had significant effect on the recognition of the somatosensory cortex. Patients who underwent surgery after presurgical planning using MEG suffered no new somatosensory deficits, indicating the valuable role of pre-surgical mapping using MEG in the surgical planning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Brain Mapping Center, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA.
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Niranjan
authors.forename: Erika J C
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Laing
authors.forename: Fahad J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Laghari
authors.forename: R Mark
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: L Dade
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Lunsford
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000601:surgery; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002538:Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000601:surgery; D015225:Magnetoencephalography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008475:Median Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult